Mets' Harris transferred to bereavement list

By Anthony DiComo / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Mets outfielder Willie Harris and his wife, Trey, lost their baby Thursday morning after five months of pregnancy.

Harris rushed back to New York late Wednesday after learning that his wife had unexpectedly gone into labor. The Mets placed him on Major League Baseball's paternity list following the game, replacing him on the roster with Fernando Martinez. The following day, he was transferred to the bereavement list, which carries a minimum requirement of three days missed and a maximum of seven.

Harris and his wife have two other children: a 16-year-old daughter, Arianna, and a 9-year-old son, Trevez.

Acosta hyperextends wrist in Mets' loss

DETROIT -- Mets reliever Manny Acosta hyperextended his right wrist in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Tigers, putting his future availability in doubt.

Though Acosta downplayed the injury after receiving an X-ray at Comerica Park, he left the stadium sporting a heavy wrap on the wrist. His manager, Terry Collins, said he was unsure of Acosta's status heading into the weekend.

Pitching in the eighth inning, Acosta fell on his right wrist while fielding Ramon Santiago's groundout and attempting to throw in the same motion. He bent his hand backward, at a right angle, resulting in the hyperextension.

Acosta had been struggling in a mop-up role prior to the injury, posting a 9.35 ERA in nine appearances since rejoining the Mets. If Acosta's wrist is not healed by this weekend, the team could place him on the disabled list and recall another reliever from Triple-A Buffalo.

Collins among Reyes' supporters for ASG bid

DETROIT -- Over a 30-year coaching and managing career, Terry Collins can only recall being around two players who have enjoyed comparable seasons to that of Jose Reyes: Barry Bonds in 1992 and Jeff Bagwell in 1994.

Both men won the National League MVP Award.

"They did stuff I couldn't imagine," Collins said. "And this guy's doing the same thing."

So yes, count Collins among those surprised that, at last check, Reyes was not even leading NL shortstops in All-Star voting. In the final update of balloting released Monday, Reyes still trailed Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki by roughly 250,000 votes, despite outranking Tulowitzki in every major offensive category besides home runs and RBIs.

"As we all know, it's a popularity contest," Collins said. "It's who comes to the ballparks and who's voting, really."

131 wins

121 wins

Though Reyes has steadily closed the gap on Tulowitzki throughout the past month, the past week and the past few days, his time is running short; voting ends Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET on MLB.com.

Leading the NL in batting average, hits, multihit games and runs scored -- all while redefining Major League standards with his triples -- Reyes will at least make the NL team as a reserve. But Collins, along with most of his players and coaches, does not think it should come to that.

"We get to see him every day," Collins said. "In our opinion, he should be the leader, without question. If he's not on the team somehow, some way, there needs to be a way to change the rules."

Parnell cranks it up on mound against Tigers

DETROIT -- It wasn't until facing Magglio Ordonez, his second batter in the seventh inning Wednesday, that Mets reliever Bobby Parnell really began dealing.

Struggling with the command of his slider while warming up in the bullpen, Parnell ditched the pitch altogether in his relief outing against the Tigers. But that left him vulnerable to predictability, prompting Parnell to make a conscious effort to crank up his fastball velocity.

The result was seven consecutive pitches clocked in triple digits, including one at 103 mph. But Parnell ultimately walked Ordonez on a 93-mph slider, his first of the night.

"It's fun to throw hard, and it's a good conversation piece, but you've still got to throw strikes and make good quality pitches," he said.

Parnell did ultimately escape from the jam by throwing two more triple-digit fastballs, though he wasn't aware of his velocity until returning to the dugout. He now ranks eighth amongst Major League pitchers this season, with an average fastball of 96.4 mph.

Leathersich among latest Mets picks signed

DETROIT -- The Mets announced Thursday that they have signed three additional picks from this month's First-Year Player Draft, including fifth-round selection John Leathersich.

Leathersich, a left-handed pitcher out of UMass-Lowell, joined 14th-round catcher Xorge Carrillo and 37th-round right-handed pitcher Craig Missigman in signing. The Mets have inked 22 of their picks.

They have until Aug. 15 to sign the rest, including their top overall selection, high school outfielder Brandon Nimmo.

Worth noting

 Though the Mets did not expect to have the final results of Jon Niese's latest cardiac test until Thursday afternoon, manager Terry Collins fully expects Niese to make his next scheduled start on Friday against the Yankees. Niese had left his previous outing in the sixth inning with a rapid heartbeat.

 Catcher Ronny Paulino is battling a sore back, prompting the Mets to use Josh Thole at catcher in Thursday's series finale. Regardless, Collins expects to catch Paulino on Friday and Sunday against the Yankees.

 Fernando Martinez downplayed the right knee soreness that forced him to miss five games earlier this month at Triple-A Buffalo. "I feel better now," said Martinez, who joined the Mets at Comerica Park on Thursday morning.

Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDicomo. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.